Pew-back



(No Model.)

W. H.' & C. ROEHR,

PEW BACK, am.

Patented Peb. .7, 1893.

me annals mins cu. Pum'umo., wAsHmoroN. nA c4 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE,

WILLIAM H. ROEIIR AND CHARLES ROEHR, OF BUCYRUS, OHIO.

Paw-BACK, ew.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 491,190, dated February7, 1893. Application led .Tune 29, 1892. Serial No. A138,422. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern,.- A

Be it known that we, WILLIAM H. ROEHR and CHARLES ROEHR, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Bucyrus, in the county of Crawford and Stateof Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Pew-Backs,School-Desks, dto., of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in pew backs, school desks,dac., and has especial reference to the means for forming, maintainingthe form, and strengthening the backs of pews, &c.

The invention'consists, essentially, in providing the back with kerfs orgrooves, extending inward, or toward each other from opposite edges ofthe back, said kerfs being parallel with the surfaces of the back andterminating at points varying from one to three or more inches from thecenter thereof, and thin veneers or cores, tting snugly in the kerfs orgrooves and secured therein by means of glue or other adhesive material.

In constructing a pew back in accordance with ourinvention, theoperation is as follows: A solid back, after being planed and sanded, isslitted in opposite directions, beginning at its side edges andextending to within a short distance of its center and in a plane, orplanes, parallel with its surfaces, the kerfs or grooves thus formedbeing from one-eighth to onequarter of an inch in width or suihcient toreceive veneers or cores of that thickness. The veneers or cores, afterbeing coated upon both sides with glue, are inserted in .the kerfs orgrooves, (a separate veneer or core for each kerf or groove), and forcedfirmly to place, after which pressure is applied to force the materialof the back to the desired shape or form and cause the glue to unite theparts. The back is slitted while straight or fiat, by means of a saw orsaws.

Our invention is more fully described in connection with the drawings,wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pew back constructed in accordancewith our invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same.Fig. 3 is a similar view of a slightly modified forln of back, in whichthe kerfs or grooves are flush with one side of the back, and anadditional shield is applied to break the joint between the veneer orcore and the back, as is fully explained hereinafter. Fig-iisasimilarview of a back showing two sets of veneers or cores.

A represents the solid back of a pew, provided with kerfs or grooves B Bextending inward from its top and bottom edges and terminating near .thecenter of the back, said kerfs or grooves being parallel with theopposite faces of the back, and in these kerfs or grooves are fitted theveneers or cores C C, equal in thickness to the channels and fittedsnugly therein. The veneers or cores are held in place in the kerfs orgrooves by means of glue or other adhesive substance.

In the modification shown lin Fig. 3, the back illustrated is of lessthickness, being only two-thirds the thickness of the back shown inFigs. 1 and 2, and the kerfs or grooves, although formed in the samemanner, are flush with one surface of the back. The veneers or cores arearranged in the kerfs or grooves as above described in connection withFigs. l and 2, an additional shield, E, being applied to the exposedsurface of the veneer or core, the width thereof being sufficient tooverlap and break the joint between the end of the kerf or groove in theback and the adjacent edge of the veneer or core.

From the above description it'will be obvious that the object of theveneer or core is the same in both forms shown, the advantage gained bythe use of the kerfs and the inserted veneers or cores being simplicityof construction, owing to the number of operations (namely, slitting theback and inserting the cores) being minimized as compared with theoperations necessary in forming backs of a series of layers or parallelsections, and freedom from warping or twisting, owing to the solidportion of material at the center of the back.

Any desired number of parallel veneers or cores may be employed, Fig. Ashowing aback provided with four, arranged in two parallel planes. Agreater number than four maybe employed, but good results have beenattained by the use of two, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The advantagegained by the use of a greater number of veneers lies in the fact thatthe material of the back which lies between ad- IOO jacent kerfs isreduced in thickness, thus causing it to conform more easily andperfectly to the shape of the former.

Obviously, a greater number of veneers than shown in Figs. l and 2 arerequired when the back is of greater thickness than about one inch.

The bead or molding which is shown in connection with our improved pewback, and which forms a part thereof, comprises the angular strip E,having a fiat lower edge to fit snugly upon the upper edge of the backproper and having a rounded front surface which is flush with the frontsurface of the back, the rear side being parallel and flush with therear surface of the back; the flat strip F, which lies in contact withthe rear surfaces of the back and said angular-strip to break thejointbetween said members, and is flush at its upper edge with the upper edgeof the angular strip; and a half-round ornamental strip G which isattached to the rear side of the flat strip. Thus the bead or moldingcomprises, essentially, a covering-stri p to conceal the upper edge ofthe back, a break-joint strip to cover the joint between lthe back andsaid covering strip, and an ornamental strip secured to the intermediatestrip.

It will be understood that what has been described in reference to pewbacks applies equally to school desks, backs', seats, tops, and tofurniture generally where the parts thereof may be bent or formed in themanner described.

We have described our invention in connection with pew backs, but thisis only a matter of convenience in description., and we reserve theright to apply our improvement to all branches of cabinet-making.

Vhen used for a desk top the curve will not be formed, in-as-much as adesk-top must be flat, but the same construction may be followed, theuse of the veneer or core preventing the splitting of the top.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is:

l. A device of the class described,provided with kerfs parallel with itssurfaces and terminating short of its center to form a web of solidmaterial, and veneers or cores fitting in said kerfs, substantially asspecified.

2. A device of the class described, provided in its opposite edgeswithinward-extending kerfs or grooves which terminate near the cen terthereof, and curved veneers or cores f1tting in said kerfs or grooves,substantially as specified.

3. A pew-back, provided in its opposite edges with kerfs or grooves,veneers or cores fitting in said kerfs, and a bead or molding comprisinga covering strip E, an intermediate or break'joint strip F, and anornamental strip G, substantially as specified.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have heretoaffixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. ROEHR. CHARLES ROEI-IR. Witnesses:

C. F. RonHR, ED. C. ROEHR.

